The Tarot is a fascinating, intricate system of interconnecting pictorial symbolism that is meant to catalyze helpful transformations within ourselves and our psyches, affecting not just behaviors, but perhaps even granting serendipitous opportunities.
Jonathan Quant, aka “Buddha,” has been a practitioner of Tarot meditation for over 20 years and is eager to introduce you to the practice. Whether you are new to Tarot, or believe you know much… you will certainly gain fresh insights. The workshop will run June 30, July 7, July 14 and July 21, from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm. Please RSVP to AdultRE@UUSM.org, re: Tarot Meditation.
Jonathan has kindly provided some additional information on the Tarot, its sources, and its relevance for Unitarian Universalists:
What is the Tarot?
The Major Tarot consists of 22 pictures that demonstrate a plenitude of interconnected symbols, drawing from such systems as the mystical Qabalah, astrology, alchemy, numerology, sacred geometry and mathematics, world mythology, Theosophy, Hermeticism, Rosicrucianism, and even Freemasonry. In modern times, it acquired Jungian psychological commentary as well. It is meant to catalyze helpful transformations within ourselves and our psyches, affecting not just behaviors, but perhaps even granting serendipitous opportunities, leading to the discovery of one’s true identity and full self-realization.
The Tarot draws primarily from Hermetic Philosophy, which had a great impact on the Renaissance, the Reformation, and even continuing with the Enlightenment. Hermeticism helped spark the development of science from 1300 to 1600 AD, with the philosophy that alchemy and its related magical systems could control nature in a transcendent way. Sir Isaac Newton greatly valued Hermeticism in his endeavor to understand the physical world.
The Hermetic philosophy teaches that the entire physical universe, including humanity (called the microcosm), reflects the Absolute (or the macrocosm): thus, the maxim “as above, so below.” What happens on any level of reality (physical, emotional, or mental) will happen on all other levels of reality. Thus, what one absorbs as they view the Tarot cards will have an impact on the multiple layers of oneself.
Why would a Unitarian Universalist study Tarot?
As one of its primary tenets, Hermeticism asserts that there is a single, true theology which is present through all spiritual paths. In Hermeticism, the ultimate reality is referred to variously as God, the All, the Absolute, or the One. Hermeticism is monotheistic, deistic, and unitarian.
Universalist thought has much in common with the tenets of Hermetic Philosophy. Hermeticism had a large impact on the Transcendentalists, of which Unitarian Universalism is a direct descendant. Ralph Waldo Emerson was greatly inspired, and co-authored “The Hermetic Book of Nature: An American Revolution in Consciousness.”
